“Whoa, whoa.”
With the sound of the coachman stopping his horse, the carriage that had been running ceaselessly stopped. Ayla, who had been dozing off while sitting in her carriage, woke up to the sound.
She stuck her head out the window and looked ahead. The gateway to Grunfeld, a small town west of Venator, appeared small in the distance.
After several days of driving, they finally arrived at their destination.
“We will arrive soon.” Give this to the lady.”
Cloud held out a small vial to Laura through the window on the other side.
It looked similar to the glass bottle Ayla had hidden in her waistband, but it was a slightly larger glass bottle. And the liquid inside was also a different color.
It was a slightly brownish-green liquid that she would never want to drink.
But Ayla already knew that she was destined to drink it soon. Because it was like that in the past.
“Here, lady. Eat this.” It’s a medicine that temporarily changes hair and eye color.”
“… Yes.”
In the past, she drank it because it was fascinating to hear that it would change the color of her hair and eyes, but she had a strong memory of frowning because it had no taste.
Maybe that’s why she couldn’t muster up the courage to drink the magic potion.
“Eat now, lady. “You need to take the medicine before we can leave again!”
“Okay, Laura.”
Ayla plugged her nose to avoid smelling the smell and swallowed the medicine in one go. This was because it was clear that if she tried to smell it, she would experience gustatory terror and even olfactory pain.
All kinds of horribly bitter, sour, and even sweet flavors attacked her taste buds indiscriminately, and Ayla shivered from the pain.
Yet. Perhaps the medicine was taking effect, her scalp and eyes began to tingle.
“Now let’s start again.”
Cloud was watching the scene outside the window, giving a signal to the driver, and the carriage slowly moved again.
‘It’s amazing every time I see it.’
She looked at her hair, which had lost its shiny silver. Her hair, braided into two braids, had become the brown hair commonly seen everywhere.
Perhaps the eyes had also changed to the same color.
It was a strange thing, but it tasted truly terrible. The strong taste still seemed to linger on her tongue, so she tried to remove it by moving her tongue around.
Meanwhile, the carriage had already arrived at the gate guarded by the guard. The guard who checked the forged ID was opening the carriage one by one as if he were not satisfied with it.
The same was true for the carriage Ayla was riding in.
“Excuse me, young lady.”
Although it wasn’t that luxurious, she was dressed like a low-ranking noble, so the guard politely greeted her and closed the door.
Even after inspecting the carriage she was riding in, the security inspection continued. At a time when she was lost in thought about whether cities were all like this, she heard the conversation of passersby outside.
“Oh my god. What kind of inspection is this?” Why is this so unusual?”
“You didn’t know? That is…”
She pricked up her ears and focused on the conversations of passersby, hoping to find out why security was so tight, but unfortunately, the inspection had ended and the carriage had departed at that time so she couldn’t hear the reason.
”It can’t be a coincidence.’
Security is stricter than usual. And even though he couldn’t avoid such a place, Byron deliberately went there.
It could never have been a coincidence.
‘Perhaps this security is also for the ‘young lion’.’
If this journey was really to follow that lion, it certainly would have been so.
She didn’t know exactly who he was, but he must have been at least the same level as the duke or higher.
The carriage carrying her drove for a long time after entering Grunfeld and arrived at a tavern with a sign saying ‘The Wild Goose Tavern’.
It was a fairly large bar. It seemed like the entire three-story building was occupied. The hall on the first floor was decorated as a bar, and the second floor was decorated as an inn-like place to stay.
And Byron’s group must have rented the entire place, so there were no guests in the spacious hall.
Even the owner, who was supposed to be guarding the counter, handed over the key to Cloud and walked out of the bar with a smile on his face.
It looks like he woke up and received a lot of money.
“You probably handled it without a problem, right?”
Byron, who was the last to get off the carriage and enter the tavern with a lot of swagger, asked in an arrogant voice.
He must have drunk the same potion as her, and his hair and eyes were brown.
“Yes. ” Sometimes the large upper part is rented out in its entirety, so you won’t be suspicious.”
Byron nodded as if satisfied with Cloud’s answer and entered his room with Capella’s guidance.
“Young lady, please go up too.”
Laura yawned tiredly and took Ayla up to the room on the third floor.
“I will stay in this room for about three days. In the meantime, you will have to eat your meals in this room. Because it’s dangerous outside. You can’t even look out the window.” This is a dangerous place with a lot of people.”
Laura lifted her chin and admonished Ayla in a cocky voice. Even though she had been on the move for several days and her eyes were filled with fatigue, she looked the same as usual.
“Okay, I get it,”
Ayla said in a grumpy voice. It was already expected. It was something she had already experienced in her previous life, and it would have been a big deal if she had looked out her window and someone had spotted her dazzling silver hair.
In the past, she couldn’t even look out the window, but she was just excited because it was amazing that she was in a place with people nearby.
“Cloud said he was always busy and couldn’t watch the young lady’s training. So, you can rest well in this room for a few days. “My lady, your arms are sagging.”
She didn’t know what could be so good about taking a break from training for just a few days, but Laura clicked her tongue in disapproval and continued.
But Ayla didn’t even have the presence of mind to get angry at that sight. It was because she was wondering what on earth Cloud was doing that he was so busy that he even took a break from his daily training, so all my mind was focused on that.
Even if it rained, training was done indoors.
She couldn’t control her curiosity, but she couldn’t do anything right now.
Just waiting for the night to come.
However, when the long-awaited night finally arrived, Ayla couldn’t be happier.
“You can sleep with me tonight, lady,”
Capella said in a hard voice.
Ayla cried inwardly and glanced briefly toward where she had hidden the sleeping pills.
It seemed that tonight was not the time to use medicine.
“Ugh, I understand. Capella.”
What was so scary was that every time she moved to the inn, she had to alternately be monitored by Capella and Laura.
One night it was Capella, and the next day it was Laura. She watched Ayla with my eyes open all night.
This was not a forest or mountainous area without any unauthorized people, so it was natural that the security would be stricter.
Capella’s surveillance was not pleasant to Ayla, who was anxious to find out what Cloud was doing and why Byron was there.
‘You wouldn’t know, Laura, but it’s dangerous to put Capella to sleep with sleeping pills.’
The owner of the sleeping pill she made was not Capella, but her daughter.
If Laura was still young, there was a high possibility that she would hide the fact that she fell asleep after her duty of surveillance for fear of being scolded, but Capella was different.
With her eyes set on avenging her husband, there was no way she could fall asleep without watching Ayla. She suddenly realized that if she could not overcome her drowsiness, she would definitely suspect Ayla.
‘I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow.’
Capella was also human, so he couldn’t stay up all night watching her, so Laura would definitely come tomorrow night.
Then, all she had to do was put Laura to sleep with the medicine she made and leave the inn.
Ayla went to sleep thinking that
* * *
“What happened to your instructions?”
Byron swirled the glass in his hand. The clear-colored liquid in the drinking glass licked as the glass moved.
“I have prepared it as you ordered. There will probably be a little commotion soon.”
His always loyal right-hand man, Cloud, spoke in a deep, trustworthy voice.
Yes, that’s right.
Cloud never disobeyed his orders. He never made a mistake in doing what he was told.
Byron smiled and took a sip of the drink in his glass. It was a strong liquor with a nice aroma. The strong alcohol went down, burning my throat.
“However..…..”I have to change my plans a bit.”
Byron wrinkled his brow and set his glass down on the desk. He was smiling like he always did.
“……Please speak.”
Cloud seemed taken aback for a moment by his master’s sudden change of plan, but soon answered in a calm voice.
Byron raised the corners of his mouth as if he liked his attitude.
“Kill me.”
Soon Byron opened his mouth, and cruel words came out of his lips. He didn’t know who he was telling him to kill, but it was a voice that betrayed no trace of his guilt.
“…… Who are you talking about?”
Cloud’s voice, which had maintained a calm demeanor the entire time, trembled slightly. The sudden instructions seemed confusing.
“That guy. “My nephew.”
Byron crossed his legs again, holding his glass in his hand. He had a relaxed appearance that could not be seen as someone ordering the death of someone, especially his own nephew.
“Master, that is…”
Cloud’s eyes trembled slightly. Byron took another sip of his drink and snorted. Because the wall is so small.
“Isn’t he going to kill me someday anyway? He just kills it a little early.” See the opportunity and kill him.”
“But… wasn’t the goal this time to follow his journey and cause a little commotion?”
At Cloud’s question, Byron frowned.
